The Nation Newspaper

Tag: flood

  • Flood: 3 feared killed, hundreds displaced in Yola

    No fewer than three people have been killed and hundreds of people displaced following a monsoon rainfall in Adamawa.

    A heavy rainfall was recorded in some areas of the state on Thursday night.

    The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the affected areas included Yolde-Pate, Jambutu and Loko in Yola South, Yola North and Song Local Government Areas of the state, respectively.

    Reacting to the development, the Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) Dr. Muhammad Suleiman however said that only one person lost his live in the flood.

    “One person lost his life, while over one hundred people mostly women and children displaced in the recent flood at Yolde-Pate in Yola South Local Government Area.

    “Many people are also affected by the flood in Loko village and Jambutu area in Song and Yola North Local Government Areas of the state,” Suleiman said.

    He said that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), especially from Yolde-Pate, were camped at the primary school in the area.

    The scribe said that the agency has provided relief materials to the victims and appealed to humanitarian actors in the country to come to the aid of the victims.

  • Flood destroys 280 hectares of rice farm in Edo

    A-280 hectare rice farm at the bank of the Ovia River in Ovia South West Local Government has been destroyed by flood.

    The rice farm was partly financed through the FADAMA III additional financing project, and 280 farmers under various clusters were affected.

    Farmers yesterday were carrying out their harvest with canoe in areas not yet flooded.

    The farmers said 70 per cent of the rice field was affected by the flood.

    President of the Iguomon I Cluster, Mrs. Bola Amen Ijeoma, said they commenced harvesting on Saturday when the flood came in on Sunday morning.

    Bola said they were expecting to get five tons per hectare following the use of Faro 44.

    She said: “We started rice farming at this Iguomon axis last year but we couldn’t make any harvest because of flood. I just started harvesting before the flood came in. I was expecting five tons in my hectare.

    “This is big loss. We have 280 hectares of rice farm. We don’t have money which was why we didn’t insure the farm. We were introduced to FADAMA III to help us out of the loss of last year.”

    Leader of Iguomon II Cluster Mr. Edward Akpoboye, aged 55, said the flood has destroyed all their hope of making recovery from the loss they experienced last year.

    “We thank the government for what they did to help us because of our loss last year. Flood as taken everything. I don’t know how to tell my wife what happened. This is the only work we know how to do.

    “We want the government to help us out of this disaster. Last year, flood took over the farms. We thought we would harvest before the flood came. The water is too much. Some persons are harvesting the rice they can see. Last year, we planted paddy rice but this year, we planted Faro 44.’’

    State Project Coordinator for the FADAMA III project Dr. Edward Izevbigie said manual harvesting was being used because the land was not fully mechanised.

    “If the state government had not paid its counterpart funding, the farmers would not have been enjoying the facilities. The state government made sure that the source of input is from a genuine source. Sygenta did the supply of all the seedlings and Agro-chemicals that we used.

    “The seed we used has the capacity to produce five tons per hectare. The farmers have started harvesting before the flood problem came on. We can see that 70 percent of the rice field was affected by the flood.”

    Special Adviser on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security Programme to Governor Godwin Obaseki, Prince Joe Okojie, decried the destruction of the rice farm.

    Prince Okojie said he was happy when he saw pictures of the farm before the flood, and was expecting a good harvest.

    His words: “I came to see the farm myself because from the pictures I saw the farm was looking good. I was informed just yesterday that flood has taken over the farm.

    “Next year, we have to start early. We need to start early next year to avoid this kind of situation. I will discuss with the Governor tô know the next step. I put a lot of effort to put the components in place to make sure this farm kicks off. We carry out research to select the seedlings. The farm was doing well. We were expecting the farmers to smile this year. All my efforts have gone down the drain.”

    Technical Field Scientist fro Sygenta Agro-chemicals, Mr. Akeem Abimbola, said relevant government agencies should make effort to release funding early for rice farmers.

    “In other countries, when you get your weather forecast, opportunities would have been created to stall flooding. Farmers could have been assisted to get the funding for the project early.”

     

     

     

     

    “As NIMET released weather forecast, they could have planned in such a way to avoid the period of flooding. If relevant government agencies had released funding early for the farmers, the input would have been provided early in such a way that they would avoid the period of this flooding. These are institutional problem.”

     

     

  • Flood: Obiano urges Fed Govt to pay 2012 victims

    Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has urged the Federal Government to pay the compensation for victims of 2012 flood disaster in the state.

    The governor regretted that the Federal Government had not responded to the list of persons who lost their means of livelihood in the flood.

    The list was submitted to it six years after the disaster.

    Speaking during a visit of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) delegation on a sensitisation drive in the state over the impending flood as forecast by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET), Obiano urged NEMA to facilitate the payment.

    The governor also sought the assistance of the agency to equip the 28 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) centres in the state.

    He added that his administration, through the Ministry of Health, was working on a mechanism for smooth evacuation of persons during the deluge.

    Obiano said: “NEMA should be proactive in its plans towards tackling the impending flood by pre-empting possible challenges and mitigating them as well as developing an early warning system to alert residents of the flood-prone areas on time.”

    NEMA’s Southeast Zonal Coordinator in Enugu, Mr Walson Brandon, said the visit was the fallout from a meeting, four months ago, between NEMA and other critical stakeholders on the flooding in the state.

    He expressed optimism that the visit would enable the parties to map the holding centres to ensure all flood-prone parts of the state were covered.

    SEMA’s Executive Secretary Paul Odenigbo said the holding centres were located at high altitudes in eight local government areas: Ayamelum, Anambra East, Ihiala, Ekwusigo, Onitsha North, Onitsha South, Ogbaru and Awka North.

    He said a new centre was being built by the Federal Government at Nzam in Anambra West.

     

  • Flood: FG issues red alert to 14 councils in Anambra

    Fourteen Local Government Areas in Anambra state have been identified as highly prone to flood disaster this year.

    Acting Director General, Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Mr Olayinka Ogunwale, disclosed this yesterday in Awka, while presenting a paper on the 2018 Annual Flood Outlook (AFO) at the sensitisation workshop.

    He listed some of the council areas likely to be hardly hit as Aguata, Idemili North, Ogbaru, Anambra-East and West, Njikoka, Anaocha, Ayamelum, Dunukofia, Orumba-North and Onitsha-North and South.

    Ogunwale, who was represented by the Director in charge of Engineering Hydrology in the Agency, Clement Nze, called on the state government and NEMA to intensify efforts to mitigate flood outbreak.

    Describing flood disaster as inevitable, the Acting DG stressed the need for early preparation to reduce its impact.

    He also called just for residents’ attitudinal change towards the environment.

    “Some of the major factors that contribute to recurrent flood disaster in the state are overflowing of rivers, high intensity of rainfall, improper urban planning and flood plains as well as indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the water ways,” he said.

    Commissioner for Public Utilities, Obi Nwankwo, urged residents to avoid practices that would encourage flood outbreak.

     

  • ‘How flood snatched my 18-month-old baby’

    • Residents of Katsina community relive ugly experiences

    • 33-yr-old had bride swept away two days after wedding

    The flood that wreaked havoc in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State during the week has raised the greatest concerns in a state that has lately become disaster ridden, AUGUSTINE OKEZIE writes.

    For residents of Jibia, a community of about 200,000 inhabitants on the border between between Nigeria and Niger Republic, last Sunday will etch in their memories as one of the worst the town ever experieced.

    It was the day a heavy nocturnal downpour from 11 pm to 1 am resulted in a massive flood that swept away lives, livestock and any other thing that stood in its way. At the last count, no fewer than 58 people were reckoned to have been swept away.

    Most residents of the community were asleep at the time the heavy downpour begun and were, therefore, oblivious of the brewing calamity until horror was unleashed. They, therefore could offer little or no resistance because it came like a thief in the night.

    One of the victims, Amina Shuaibu (35), whose 18-month-old son, Jafaru, was swept away by the flood, said she was still in shock on how it all happened.

    According to her, she was carrying her son in her hand when the rain started. But not long after, a heavy surge of water that swept her off her feet and she fell into the deluge of water. In the process, the flood snatched the baby from her.

    Thirty-three-year-old Sanni Yahaya, who got married only two days before the flood, was also a victim, as his 22-year-old wife, Unmi Hindatu, who was asleep at the time of the flood, was swept away with the building.

    Yahaya was not in town at the time the incident occurred.

    Speaking amid sobs as he narrated his ordeal, he said he had resolved to hand everything over to God

    He said: “We just got married two days ago. I went to Katsina to bring down our household items. Unfortunately, I could not come back on that day. We only found her corpse the next day at Madara village in Niger Republic.”

    Ibrahim Lawale, a 64-year-old bricklayer who was suffering from partial stroke, was one of the residents overtaken by the flood, as he was said to be on his sick bed at the time the rain fell. He was only rescued by members of his family who managed to take him out of the mass of water in which he was immersed and took him to dry ground. But that was not before he had lost his speech and hearing ability.

    His wife, Hassana, told The Nation at the hospital where he was receiving treatment that her husband could no longer eat any solid food and had to rely on pap and tea.

    The District Head of Jibia, Alhaji Rabe Rabi’u, who was on an assessment tour of the affected areas, described the development as “highly devastating.”

    He said: “As I speak to you, we have discovered the corpse of 25 persons including mothers and children, and many are missing. More than 260 cows, sheep and goats were killed by the flood.

    “The heavy rainfall started around 11 pm on Sunday night and stopped around 1 am Monday.”

    The areas worst affected include Kwata, Dantudu, Sabuwar Tukare, Tsohuwar Tukare and Ungwar Mai Kwari. The flood sacked many residents of the aforementioned communities from their homes and shops, rendering thousands of them homeless.

    So disillusioned became the residents who are just smarting from the recent outbreak of cholera that claimed no fewer than 30 lives in the state, that they have resorted to prayers. Notable Islamic clerics, Sheik Alhassan Saidi and Dr Yakubu Musa Alhassan, on Tuesday led other religious leaders to the Central Primary School camp of about 1,500 people displaced by the flood.

    The Information Officer in charge of Jibia Local Government Area, Sa’ad Suleiman, said the situation was aggravated by people who were building structures on water channels or dumping refuse in the drains.

    Suleiman said that the state government had earlier embarked on dredging of rivers, canals and clearing of drains, urging residents of the state to inculcate the habit of disposing their refuse properly and desist from dumping refuse indiscriminately.

    The Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) had in its forecast earlier in the year listed Katsina as one of the states that would experience heavy downpour.

    The welfare officer from Jibia Local Government Area, Malam Nasiru Abdu, who was attached to the IDP camp of the flood victims, said the inhabitants were being screened to establish their identities and claims.

    He said the primary school where they were kept was undergoing renovation and rehabilitation to serve as suitable accommodation for the IDPs. He also said that several committees had been established, especially on health, security, feeding, and resettlement of the victims, to ensure that they were adequately taken care of.

    Majority of the Inmates at the camp told our correspondent that they were satisfied with the prompt response of the state and federal governments to their plight. They also expressed their wish to be resettled elsewhere outside the flood prone areas

    Twenty-fieve-year-old Jumai Abubakar, who was clutching her six-month old baby at the camp, urged the governor not to rebuild their houses but resettle them in a better location.

    “We don’t want to go back there. We prefer a better place,” she said.

    Most residents of the town who spoke with our correspondent said the areas affected were mostly flood prone, adding that the incident is not new, only that the inhabitants refused to hid previous warnings by governments and relevant agencies to refrain from building on drainage lines

    The Nation investigation revealed that a dam constructed on the bank of the river responsible for the disaster was constructed 20 years ago, blocking free flow of water from drainage lines into the river.

    Mustapha Rabiu, a resident of the area, also observed that the river could not take the water that was coming into it from the drainages and had to beat them back because it was already full, thus causing the flooding.

    An elderly native of the town, Mohammed Yusuf Hassan, who claimed to have lived all his life in the town, said that the building of houses on drainage lines obstructed free flow of water and caused flooding.

    The situation would probably be uglier but for early intervention governments at state and federal levels as was reflected in the speech of the state governor, Aminu Bello Masari while briefing newsmen on Monday evening.

    He said: “I have informed the President about the incident and he has called to sympathisze with the people.

    “As a government, we shall find a permanent solution to the problem.

    “The National Emergency Management Agency has also been duly informed and they are sending relief materials to the victims.”

    The Executive Secretary, Katsina State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Aminu Waziri, had earlier said: “What we are doing presently is to find temporary accommodation for those whose houses have been washed away or damaged.

    “We must provide them places to put their heads for the heavens may open up again.”

    Truckloads of relief materials from the state government owned SEMA and NEMA were seen arriving the camp and offloading items like foams, mats, foodstuffs and cooking materials. Inmates had to queue up to collect relief materials.

    Asked about the position of the state government on finding a permanent solution to perennial flooding in the area, Governor Masari said he had already directed the Ministry of Environment to come up with measures aimed at addressing the issue.

    He said: “We know that Jibia is a flood-prone area, and we shall build drainage.

    “But what happened was that instead of water flowing into the river through the drainage, water from the river was flowing back into the drainage, thereby causing the flooding.

    “We are going to redirect the water flow. I have passed out necessary instructions. We have also taken measures to ameliorate the sufferings of the victims.”

    On whether the state government would seek financial assistance or partner with the federal government to fund the project, Masari said at the moment, the state is capable of funding the project since it is located in the state.

    But he assured that should they need assistance from the federal government, they would not hesitate to make a request.

  • NEC okays panel’s recommendation on flood

    The National Economic Council (NEC) on Thursday approved the establishment of Federal Project Coordinating Unit on flood prevention, mitigation and preparedness programme.

    A panel has recommended the setting up of the unit to mitigate the effect of flood in many parts of the country.

    Anambra State Governor, Willy Obiano, disclosed this at the end of about two hours meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He was with the Bauchi State Governor, Mohammed Abubakar, Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Moses Adeyemo and Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Oluyemi Dipeolu, at the briefing.

    According to Obiano, the Minister of State for Environment, Usman Jibril, briefed the Council and asked for collaborative partnership between the Federal Government and State governments against flooding and other erosion disasters in the country.

    He said: “The presentation informed the Council on the imminent onset of this year’s flood season and the need for collaborative partnership between the Federal and State Governments with the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation (PCFRR) for immediate intervention on flood prevention, mitigation and preparedness in the country.

    “The occurrence and magnitude of flood continue to increase in Nigeria due to many factors, among which are prolonged rainfall, siltation of existing streams, human manipulation of drainage basins, undeveloped drainages, poor urban planning and dam collapse, among others.

    “It is estimated that about 20 per cent of the population is at risk from one form of flooding or another, resulting in property damages and loss of lives annually. Climate change projections indicate that there may be greater risk of flooding in the years ahead.

    “Natural causes of flood are beyond human control, but human manipulation/human induced situation can either be prevented or at least have their impact mitigated.

    “Enormous resources towards flood disaster mitigation have been committed by government at all levels. However, the menace continues unabated. There is need for a paradigm shift in the approach to solve the annual negative experience, hence the need for suggestive approaches for an efficient and effective collaboration among stakeholders.”

  • Flood destroys 100 houses in Yobe

    No fewer than 100 houses have been destroyed by flood in Babangida, headquarters of Tarmuwa Local Government Area of Yobe State following Monday’s heavy rain.

    Chairman of Tarmuwa council Gidado Muhammad told reporters that the council had temporarily converted a primary school to a camp to shelter displaced persons.

    He said: “No life was lost and no serious casualty was recorded, but over 100 houses were destroyed, with foodstuff and personal belongings.

    “Workers of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) are taking every detail while the council has provided immediate shelter and food to the victims.”

    The chairman said excavation work was on to open up more channels for easy passage of rain water to prevent a recurrence.

    A resident, Ali Usman, said he lost four rooms, food items and clothes to the flood and he now takes refuge with a relation.

    “I have sent my wife home while I take refuge with a relation pending when the government will assist us,” he said.

  • Flood kills two pupils in Edo

    Residents of Uselu community in Egor local government area on Tuesday protested the death of a six-year old pupil by flood after a heavy downpour which lasted several hours.

    The protesters blocked the busy Uselu-Lagos road with bonfires while motorists were made to take other routes to Ugbowo and the Kings Square.

    Several sign boards of the Edo State Government in the area were pulled down by the angry protesters.

    They said their anger stemmed from the inability of the State Government to send its officials to help find the body of the pupil identified as Segun.

    Leader of the protesters, Mr. Oni Enoma, said the drainage was a death trap and a nightmare to them whenever it rains.

    He said they would leave the streets if the state government began moves to cover to drainage.

    According to him, “A woman and her baby fell into a death trap they call gutter. It was an Hausa man that dragged the woman out but the baby fell inside. but we have not been able to find the body of the boy.

    “We were surprised that nothing has been done by the fire fighters and the state government to find the body. We want the Commissioner of Works to come and cover the drainage or we will not stop this protests. We want them to cover that death trap.

    Another protester who gave his name as Augustine Idahosa said the incident happened at about 2pm on Monday.

    “This is part of the N30bn water storm project. We blocked the road to make the government come and recover the body,” he said.

    Late Segun and his mother whose name was given as Latifat were walking home with

    after school hours when they slipped into an open drainage at the Omosogie junction along Bénin-Uselu road.

    An eye witness who gave his name as Kehinde said it was an Hausa boy scavenging for scraps that saved the woman but her son fell in.

    “I quickly jumped inside the gutter but the boy was already gone. We have searched everywhere but we did not see the body.

    “The boy is scheduled for graduation ceremony to primary one next week”.

    Policemen were on ground to prevent any break down of law and order.

    At Okhoro junction along New Lagos road in Benin City, a three-year old girl was said to have also been swept away by flood.

    Identity of the victim was not available as at press time.

  • Flood sacks hundreds in Ondo riverine community

    At least 200 residents of Ayetoro, a riverine community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, have been displaced by water surge from the Atlantic Ocean.

    Sources said over 25 houses with values were affected.

    A resident, Emmanuel Aralu, said the ocean began to overflow its bank on Saturday night, catching the residents unawares.

    He said: “The surge occurred in the middle of the night when many people had retired to bed. We only tried to pack some of our belongings out. But when we noticed that most of the houses had been submerged, we had to evacuate the people from their houses.”

    The community leader urged the state government to assist the community.

    He said the embankment project by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) had failed to prevent ocean surge in the area.

  • 12 feared dead in Ogun flood as victims count losses

    More than twelve people are reportedly dead following a ravaging flood that hit Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital and its environs after a torrential rain on Friday.
    Of those feared dead, three of them (Mrs Alirah Akintobi, Shuaib and Abideen, comprising mother and her two sons) have been confirmed dead at Ilawo area of Abeokuta.
    The kiosk where Mrs Akintobi runs her petty store was swept away on Friday evening by the flood,  but while trying to escape with her children, she fell and got drowned along with the two boys in the flood that reached lintel level of houses in some affected areas.
    Their remains were buried on Saturday morning amid tears by residents of Ilawo neighborhood, The Nation was told when our correspondent visited the scene of the incident.
    Scores of residents were sacked from their homes and shops in many locations in Abeokuta and its environs whose apartments were either submerged or brought down by the flood.
    Household items, goods and other valuables were destroyed. The Nation sighted many families in Ijeja, Ijaiye, Gbangban, Amolasho, Kuto, Olomore  areas still battling to salvage what was left of their properties.
    In Ago Ijesha area,  eye witnesses , at different times, told The Nation that a mother and her toddler – daughter were  swept away by the flood.
    However, the remains of the daughter were picked up on Saturday morning by the edge of a canal which coursed through many communities and two Local Government areas before opening into the Odo – Ogun(Ogun River). The search for the mother persisted is still on.

    A source in Ijeja area where the flood damaged the bridge linking it with other parts of the state capital, said families of missing persons were sighted following the canal path and searching for their beloved ones suspected to have been washed away in the flood.

    flood
    Prince  Obalanlege Joseph, Chairman, Red Cross Society of Nigeria, Ogun State chapter, described the flood as “devastating with many loss of lives.”
    Obalanlege said feelers from the Emergency First Aid Team (EFAT) unit of the Red Cross Society hinted that about eight people have died in the flood and that their remains were deposited at the morgue of the state hospital, Ijaiye.
    He advised Abeokuta residents to desist from obstructing the water ways by dumping refuse inside the drainage system and also called on the state government to enforce the physical environment and building regulations of the state which bars people from erecting structures on drainage pathways and flood planes.
    According to him, indiscriminate dumping of refuse on water channels as well as building on flood planes are the  contributory factors to the devastating flood experienced by residents on Friday evening.
    “It is quite  devastating, so many lives have been lost, we are rushing down to Ijaye general hospital because we have a report that about eight bodies have been deposited at the mortuary from different areas.
    “We are going to create awareness, appealing to the government, the Ogun State government is trying but still,  many more have to be done, the community has to be sensitised on dumping their refuse.
     
    ” And we have to appeal to the town planning authority, there are some houses that are too close to the canals here and that is why we have so many people affected,” he said.
    The Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Ahmed Iliyasu, told Nation that he was on the field to assess the situation, identify with people and share in the feelings but declined to give casualty figure.
    The State Commissioner for Works, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, and officials of the State Emergency Management Agency(SEMA) were also sighted making assessment of the devastation done to both private and public properties.
    In Amolasho and Kuto, major commercial areas of Abeokuta, goods and structures worth tens of millions of naira were swept away and emptied into a canal by the Isabo state High court area where the flood was most fiercest.
    Thirty – five year old Ms Somuyiwa Bisola Farida, proprietress of Bisola Stores had her stores and warehouse for assorted goods and beverages ruined by the flood which, she said, she saw coming towards her shop with fury but could not dare to venture rescue anything lest she gets submerged.
    Farida told The Nation that preliminary checks have revealed she has lost over N5m worth of goods, lamenting that the latest incident is about the fourth time her goods had gone down the drain following Amolasho’s  perennial flooding.
    It is not only goods and household items that were destroyed, dozens of vehicles packed by the roadsides were also submerged with some of them dragged into gullies and pits.
    The Nation sighted some youths battling to dig up one Toyota car buried near the Holy Cross Hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, by the flood.
    Areas most hard hit are Ijaye, Amolasho, Kuto,  Isale Egbein, Olomore, Leme, Adigbe among others.
    The Archdiocesan Headquarters of the Celestial Church of Christ, Ijaye, Abeokuta was also severely hit with about a dozen vehicles submerged along with worship and musical equipment. The flood also flattened parts of the church’s perimeter fence.
     Residential buildings and shops numbering 15 within the area were affected as some of the structures  either collapsed, tilt or got weakened as to make them unsafe for habitation.
    The rain which started around 4:30pm on Friday evening caught Abeokuta residents  unaware, brought in in its trail flood and devastation.
    Thousands were also locked down for hours following the massive flood that took over all access roads.
    The Assistant Chief Planning Officer, , National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), Southwest, Babatunde Olowookere , said the agency got information about the flood at about 2am on Saturday, adding that the agency’s official were on ground to assess the situation and how to render assistance.
    The Commissioner for Environment, Bolaji Oyeleye, the state government got the information before hand that there would be heavy rain leading to flooding in many places, saying that informed why the government embarked upon drainage clearing across the state.
    Oyeleye blamed the flood in parts on indiscriminate dumping of refuse on waterways and building of structures on flood planes and canals by residents.
    He advised people to henceforth, desist from obstructing water course with refuse or erecting structures on them.